Question

Spot the difference between Convectional and Cyclonic rainfall.

Answer 1

Hint: A basic difference between the two types of rainfall is that the convectional rainfall is due to convection currents whereas the cyclonic rainfall is due to the cyclonic activities.

Complete answer: The difference between the two types of rainfall is listed in the table below:

S. No.	Convectional Rainfall	Cyclonic Rainfall
1.	Convectional rainfall is a type of rainfall that involves the formation of convection currents.	The cyclonic rainfall, on the other hand, is caused due to cyclones. A cyclone has a warm front and a cold front with a substantial difference in the temperatures.
2.	This rainfall occurs when the temperature gets high and the warmer air rises up in the atmosphere. On expansion, this air cools down and clouds are formed, which are generally cumulus clouds.	A cyclone has a warm front and a cold front with a substantial difference in the temperatures. This difference causes the air above the warm front to rise up and expand. The expansion causes the temperature to drop and condensation occurs, which results in the formation of clouds.
3.	These clouds bring rainfall which lasts for a very short duration.	These clouds bring heavy rainfall which may even go on for several days.
4.	Such rainfall is known as convectional rainfall which occurs mainly in the northern hemisphere, predominantly in the tropical regions.	This type of rainfall is known as cyclonic rainfall and generally occurs in the coastal areas of the world.

Note: Rainfall and Precipitation are two different terms and they need not be confused. Precipitation can be in the form of rainfall, snowfall, sleet, hailstones, etc. but rainfall (orographic, convectional or cyclonic) is just a type of precipitation.